Editing Billy Hughes (section)

===London===
At the age of eleven, Hughes was enrolled in St Stephen's School, [[Westminster]], one of the many church schools established by the philanthropist [[Angela Burdett-Coutts, 1st Baroness Burdett-Coutts]]. He won prizes in geometry and French, receiving the latter from [[Dudley Ryder, 2nd Earl of Harrowby|Lord Harrowby]]. After finishing his elementary schooling, he was apprenticed as a "[[Monitorial System|pupil-teacher]]" for five years, instructing younger students for five hours a day in exchange for personal lessons from the headmaster and a small stipend.{{sfn|Fitzhardinge|1964|p=5}} At St Stephen's, Hughes came into contact with the poet [[Matthew Arnold]], who was an examiner and inspector for the local school district. Arnold – who coincidentally had holidayed at Llandudno – took a liking to Hughes, and gifted him a copy of the [[Complete Works of Shakespeare]]; Hughes credited Arnold with instilling his lifelong love of literature.{{sfn|Fitzhardinge|1964|p=9}}
[[File:Billy Hughes - Royal Fusiliers.jpg|thumb|left|upright|Hughes in his [[Royal Fusiliers]] uniform, c. 1880]]
After finishing his initial apprenticeship, Hughes stayed on at St Stephen's as a teaching assistant. He had no interest in teaching as a career though, and also declined Matthew Arnold's offer to secure him a clerkship at [[Coutts]].{{sfn|Fitzhardinge|1964|p=10}} His relative financial security allowed him to pursue his own interests for the first time, which included bellringing, boating on the Thames, and travel (such as a two-day trip to Paris). He also joined a volunteer battalion of the [[Royal Fusiliers]], which consisted mainly of artisans and white-collar workers.{{sfn|Fitzhardinge|1964|p=11}} In later life, Hughes recalled London as "a place of romance, mystery and suggestion".{{sfn|Fitzhardinge|1964|p=2}}